The ASM General Meeting Minority Travel Grant Program - Cycle 3 is a five-year initiative to increase the number of underrepresented minorities (URMs) who choose and excel in careers in microbiology and related sciences. The program's overall goal is to achieve this increase by supporting URM postdoctoral fellows and faculty from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and community colleges (CCs) to attend the ASM General Meeting. Although much of the U.S. scientific and engineering innovations are made by those with advanced education and training, the most recent NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates (conducted in 2010) found that of the U.S. citizens and permanent residents awarded doctorates in the life sciences in 2010, just 11.2% were URMs; this highlights the need for (i) more diversity in the educational pipeline and (ii) URM students to receive doctorates and succeed in the scientific and engineering workforce. By attending the General Meeting, grantees benefit from opportunities to present research and interact with ~7,000 microbiologists at the event. These interactions may result in extensive networking; partnerships to enhance research, curriculum content, and student learning; lasting mentoring relationships; and exposure to new sources of funding and career planning. Grantees also become poised to recruit and empower colleagues and students in microbiology research and education. Specific aims for the program focus on supporting the success of URMs in the microbiology workforce: Aim 1: To provide faculty from MSIs and CCs and postdoctoral fellows from URM groups in the sciences with opportunities to expand their research capabilities by networking and collaborating with established microbiologists at the ASM General Meeting. Aim 2: To provide faculty from MSIs and CCs and URM postdoctoral fellows from groups with opportunities to enhance their teaching and mentoring capabilities. Aim 3: To increase the number of ASM members from URM groups in the sciences. Aim 4: To increase the interest of faculty from MSIs and postdoctoral fellows from URM groups in becoming actively involved in ASM.